Amendment 64 Opponents Selling “First to Legalize” Merch

Beware ‘First To Legalize’ Colorado Amendment 64 Merchandise

Some of the most vocal opponents of marijuana legalization this election cycle were the people who smoke pot, usually under the protection of their state’s medical use law, but felt like the initiative on the ballot wasn’t “True Legalization™”. As I predicted, as soon as legalization passed, they would be some of the first to jump on the bandwagon as soon as money could be made.

The Cannabis Therapy Institute (under various pseudonyms) is selling merchandise through CafePress under a banner “Colorado Rocky Mountain High” and linking to the Reuters story, “Colorado first to legalize“. But further down the page at Legalize2012.com you’ll find all their arguments against “FAKE LEGALIZATION”.

cannabis therapy institute – before

cannabis therapy institute – after

While the people of Colorado voted for Amendment 64 with 55% of the vote, the people at Cannabis Therapy Institute, people like Miguel Lopez, Laura Kriho, and Kathleen Chippi, were doing everything in their power to make sure Colorado was NOT the “First to Legalize”, including maintaining a “Cannabis Policy Project” blog listing all the reasons to vote against Amendment 64, explaining that “Amendment 64 is the marijuana “regulation” (not “legalization”)”

So… where’s the “Colorado: First to Regulate” buttons?

Laura Kriho from the Cannabis Therapy Institute.

Laura Kriho is the registrant behind the Legalize2012.com site offering “First to Legalize” buttons, the site continues to explain how Amendment 64 means the “good pot smokers” (a.k.a. those who follow the law) will fund the police enforcement against the “bad pot smokers”, who would be “those with one gram over one ounce, those with seven plants or those who do not want to submit to state over-regulation.” The funds raised by the “First to Legalize” merchandise will help Cannabis Therapy Institute fund “a true grassroots campaign” to fix Amendment 20 (the medical marijuana one), not Amendment 64 (the legalization one).

In other words, the people who were already benefiting from the protections of the medical marijuana law, who then spent money to make sure healthy pot smokers would still be arrested, are the hypocrites who are selling commemorations of the law they opposed that finally protects the healthy pot smokers in order to increase the medical protections they were already benefiting from.

Kriho manages Colorado420.com and Denver420.com as well, both heavily promoting the “First to Legalize” merchandise. ”Legalize it Like Tomatoes” reads their rally caption (ignoring the fact that growing tomatoes in your yard isn’t likely to encourage teens to jump your fence and pick the vines clean in search of a high). Below the trademarked “First to Legalize” graphic is another exhortation that “A64 is NOT true legalization.”

The sales of this merchandise will also help benefit Miguel Lopez and his legendary Denver 4/20 legalization rally. That would be the same Miguel Lopez who went as far as forming a registered committee in opposition to passing Amendment 64. Thankfully, the “No On 64 Take the Greed Outta Weed” committee had apparently not raised any money over two years of campaigning… which kind of explains why Kriho, Chippi, Lopez, and their ilk always fail to get their “True Legalization™” on the ballot.

About Author

Executive Director: Russ Belville has been active in Oregon marijuana reform since 2005, when he was elected second-in-command of the state affiliate, Oregon NORML. After four years with Oregon NORML, Russ was hired by National NORML in 2009, working as Outreach Coordinator and hosting the NORML Daily Audio Stash podcast until 2012. Since then, Russ launched the 420RADIO marijuana legalization network and is the host of The Russ Belville Show, a live daily marijuana news talk radio program. Russ is also a prolific writer, with over 300 articles posted online and in print in HIGH TIMES, Huffington Post, Alternet, The Weed Blog, Marijuana Politics, and more.

Unbelievable hypocrisy… Sad really… Kriho et al: you had a chance to be involved in this historic challenge to the cannabis status quo and you chose foolish idealism over reality… True national legalization will be here one day, and your name will never be remembered for it or associated with it, as others like Tvert’s will (see Bill Maher’s show)… No matter how many damn buttons you sell

This hasn’t been confirmed, but as reported by multiple sources it does appear that there’s a group of people who were already benefiting from the protections of the medical marijuana law and who were opposed to Amendment 64 to legalize marijuana, but are now selling “Frst to Legalize” merchandise. A total misrepresentation of who they are.

Is something wrong with this picture? It’s not illegal, but these are the kind of people who give marijuana a bad name and we all suffer guilt by association. Have you heard statements such as “You can’t trust anyone who takes marijuana” (smokes, vaporize, or eat cookies), portraying the image of a rejected class of second class citizens?

We don’t need associations with immoral people. Marijuana users no longer need to hide in the bushes or behind medical marijuana perscriptions. That’s the beauty of Amendment 64. Now that marijuana has been legalized you can be open, honest, and perhaps proud about it when your next door neighbor gets drunk and you quietly and peacefully make friends and instead of being drinking buddies show that there’s a better alternative. So in this way marijuana users naturally become more ethical about their behavior and don’t have to associate with rip off artists like in the days of the black market and prohibition.

Patriot

DavidTheExpert

Can’t we let bygones be bygones? Those prohibitionists fighting against our ballot measures pissed me off to no end too, but now, more than ever, we all need to come together and unify for the common goal.

Sean

Maybe. But I just find the fact that these stoners for prohibition are now trying to make a fast buck hypocritical and distasteful to say the least.

moldy

There will always be profiteers but these assholes take the cake. Sure it’d be nice to just forget how they spent their time trying to de-rail legalization but to come back and use the victory to profit even more is a little bit more than I can handle. Eat shit and die peacefully traitors.